"I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Sunday, February 01, 2015

(4th Sunday in Ordinary Time-Year B; This homily was given on January 31, 2015 at Holy Spirit Church in Central Falls, R.I., February 1, 2015 at St. Brendan's Church in Riverside, R.I., Holy Spirit Church in Central Falls, R.I. and St. Rocco's Church in Johnston, R.I.; See Mark 1:21-28)

Batman.Superman.Spider Man.

Beauty and the Beast.Cinderella.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

What do all of these stories, all of these films, have in
common?They all represent that
perennial struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Truth be told, the reason why we are so
captivated by those stories, the reason why we will watch those movies over and
over again, and view sequel after sequel, is because—on some fundamental level—they
ring true.

We certainly experience that great battle between good and
evil in the world we live in.We can see
it on the evening news and read about it in the newspaper.But even internally, deep within the human
spirit, we sense the reality of that struggle:

§We are, in fact, never more anxious, more
saddened, more weighed down and discouraged, than when we have been drawn into
evil and into the self-destructiveness of sin.

§But we also never feel more like ourselves—more peace-filled, joyful and free—than when we
allow God to draw us into the things that are good, holy, virtuous and
true.

Isn’t that why you came here today?Christ draws us into all that is good when He
gathers us together here to listen to the word of God and the message of our redemption;
God draws us into communion with Christ and with each other here in the Holy
Eucharist.This is the real drama that
we identify in the books and the movies that enchant us, because it is the
drama of every human life.

We find that drama taking place in a powerful way in the
Gospel of St. Mark this weekend.We are
told that Christ entered the synagogue in Capernaum and He began to teach the
people.He was drawing them into the
great story of salvation and bringing them more completely into the good that
God had designed for them.But suddenly
Jesus is confronted, face-to-face, by evil.St. Mark relates that there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean
spirit, and that this evil spirit began to cry out against Christ, the
Destroyer himself accusing God of destruction:

“What have you to do with
us, Jesus of Nazareth?Have you come to
destroy us?I know who you are—the Holy
One of God!”

—Mark 1:24

It is a disturbing scene, in particular because of where
that scene takes place: in the holy place.We would not be surprised to see Christ confronted by evil in the
street, or in some seedy place where vice flourishes; but, of all places, in
the synagogue?

At the same time we should not be surprised at all if we truly
understand who Christ is.Jesus is not
simply a good man.He is the
God-man.He is the eternal Son of God
who is the origin of all that is good; Jesus Christ is the embodiment of goodness
itself, and evil cannot tolerate to be in the presence of that which is all-good. While Satan's usual mode of operation is to remain hidden in the background, working deceptively and destructively even in holy places, the presence of Jesus suddenly draws him out. Rightly does the evil spirit rail against the
Christ in that panicked moment, and especially in that sacred space. The game is up.

But it is also true that Christ cannot tolerate that which
is evil.He is more than up to the task
of dealing deliberately and decisively with this unclean spirit.He calls the demon out directly, and
commands:

“Quiet! Come out of him!”

—Mark 1:25

After a brief struggle, and with no small amount of
resistance, the unclean spirit departs from that person and the man is finally
set free.

It is a dramatic struggle and it reminds us of what we truly
believe in our Catholic faith about God and the good.The Christian faith is very different from
many of the Eastern religions that describe the struggle of good versus evil as
a battle between two equal forces.It is
not the case that good and evil “balance”
each other off in some impersonal, moral equilibrium.No, what we believe clearly is that God is
all-good, as well as all-powerful.He
has power over all of creation, over all spirits, and all things.He speaks the word of command in the Gospel
this weekend, “Quiet!Come out of him!” and it is
accomplished.

As uncomfortable as it may be to name it, what
Christ performs in the Gospel this weekend is, literally, an exorcism.He casts out the evil spirit that has
possessed this man in the synagogue.We
believe in the reality of exorcism in the Catholic faith.There is, in fact, a Rite of Exorcism in the
Catholic faith, and there are priests who have used it with great effect, as effective
as Jesus Christ Himself in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Of course, exorcism is real but also rare.Most priests have never performed one.But there is something that Christ wills to
do in our lives on a regular basis, something that is very common and very
necessary.He wills to drive away that which is evil—in
whatever forms we find it present in our world and in our lives—and He wills to
draw us into that which is good,
virtuous and holy.Are we allowing Him
to do that fully and are we cooperating completely in that great plan for our
redemption?

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome,
writes in his book, An Exorcist Tells His
Story, that there are two things that God does frequently among
the Catholic faithful that can be even more powerful and more effective than an
exorcism.These two things may
surprise you.

The first one is Sacramental Absolution.The Sacrament of Reconciliation.To make a good, integral confession and to
receive absolution from the priest, is something that can be more powerful than
driving out a demon from a possessed person.Why would Fr. Amorth say that?Because we believe that sin damages our relationship with God and with
those around us.Our Catholic faith
teaches us that some of these sins are venial; we participate in gossip, tell
little white lies.These things are
wrong and sinful, but they do not necessarily break our relationship with
God.

Mortal sins, however—sins which are serious, grave and even
deadly—can and do break our relationship with God and result in the departure
from what is called a “state of grace,” the beautiful bond that God has formed
with us through our sacred Baptism.“Sanctifying
grace” is the life of God within the soul that allows us to live and love in a
supernatural way.To die in a state of
mortal sin, having lost that “sanctifying grace,” is to put one’s soul and
eternal salvation in peril.To come to
the end of our lives having committed serious, grave and mortal sins which have
never been confessed before God and never truly repented from, is to risk the
loss of heaven and the loss of eternal life with God.

But in one, sincere, heartfelt and contrite moment, when we
confess our sins before God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation which He
instituted for that very purpose, we receive pardon and peace and the
forgiveness of God restores that grace which we long for and desire above all
earthly things.Passing on from this
world in a state of sanctifying grace, we are fully prepared to enter into
eternal life with God.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is that powerful, that
awesome and life giving.How tragic
that, in this time in which there are so many temptations and occasions to fall
away from God and to forget His great invitation to eternal life, there are
fewer and fewer Catholics that take advantage of that opportunity to live fully
and abundantly in God.

The second thing mentioned by Fr. Amorth that is even more powerful
than exorcism is listening to the word of God and its explanation through good
preaching (while he does not explicitly state that the Eucharist is preeminent,
it is clear from his context that he takes this as a given).So why preaching, and why the word of
God?Amorth mentions the teaching of St.
Paul, who writes in his letter to the Church at Rome:“Faith
comes through what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ”
(Romans 10:17).

It is when we listen to the word of God proclaimed, week
after week, and hear that word explained and taught, that we grow in our faith
and we are drawn ever more deeply into the mysteries of Jesus Christ.We hear about Christ, who suffered and died
for the forgiveness of our sins; how He rose from the dead and invites us into
that supernatural life that has the power to overcome death itself.

God draws us into that life-giving relationship with Himself
and increases our faith and our conviction to live out the Gospel, to pray, to
reach out in love to those around us
and to reach up in gratitude, worship
and praise.That living and active
faith, explains Fr. Amorth, sets up a “force-field” of sorts, like a protective
wall around the treasure that is our soul.When a Catholic man or woman lives out his or her faith to the fullest,
Jesus Christ is able to drive out the forces of evil; they are not able to gain
ground or take root in the place where God dwells.There is nothing as powerful as a soul
totally possessed by the living God.As
the saying goes: “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his
knees.”

How are we allowing Jesus Christ to drive away evil and fill
us with all that is good in our lives this week?How can we cooperate most fully in these
opportunities to be sanctified and to be instruments of God’s sanctification in
our world today?

Because, truly, we are not saved from our sins by
Batman.It is not Spiderman or Superman
who died on the cross to give us the ineffable mercy of God.It is Jesus Christ alone who overcomes the
powers of evil and grants us the supernatural life to be transformed and to
live like never before.May we allow Him
to drive away from us all that is evil and become His instruments of goodness
and love in a world desperate for heroes and hungry for the things of God.